1 . Although it is difficult to make direct year-to-year comparisons because of increase in viewing on digital devices, the trend over the past decade is clear in numerous studies, including the Nielsen ratings. The average age of those who watch nationally televised Major League Baseball games has been _____ these years. Asked in a survey whether they _____ baseball, nearly two-thirds of those ages 18 to 36 said no.

Michael Haupert, a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin ----la Crosse who studies baseball as a business, explains why many young people might be _____ by what to an older and more knowledgeable fan is one of the most exciting experiences in sports: a no-hitter. ” Failure is more ______ than success,” he says. ”If my students get a third of the answers right on their test, they fail. However, if a ballplayer gets a hit a third of the time, he’s often one of the _____ .” But watch an NBA game for 15 seconds, and you will likely see one team score.

It is not surprising that ______ the length of games----about three hours in recent years-----and increasing the pace of action has become a subject of discussion among those who love baseball. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is strongly ______ of both. For the 2018 season, the league issued a set of new rules designed to do just that. Mound visits are limited. A timer countdown is designed to shorten the break between innings(局).

No one knows if any of these changes will significantly shorten games. According to MLB, the average length of a nine-inning outing this season has been three hours---about five minutes shorter than the 2017 average, itself the longest mean on record.

All of those proposed changes seem to ______ the point. I interviewed at least 100 semi-fans in their late teens and early 20s for my recent book. All considered themselves fans to some degree, though they ______   watched more than snatches—on iPads or smartphones. They told me it made no difference whether a game lasted two or three hours: they would not pay attention for _____ amount of time.

The historic May 14 Supreme Court decision allowing all states to legalize sports betting could have an impact on all this. More people will soon be able to gamble on sports while watching a game on their couch. But whether ______ gambling will attract more young people to baseball is a huge unknown. Many already gamble, both legally and illegally, on fantasy sports, but legalization will provide yet another ______ during games in real time. Will some states allow betting reports in broadcasts? Will it make the young more likely to bet on baseball than on other sports? Stay tuned.

I don’t know what will hook young people on baseball. But abandoning the game’s unique selling proposition---the timelessness that provides both suspense and great conversationhe educated fan -----is not the ______ . Baseball, Clark told me, is like a game of chess---and too many ______ - changes might turn it into something “more similar to a game of checkers.” Baseball may survive in spite of its challenges, precisely because it stands out and stands up against the short ______ spans that negatively affect every aspect of our culture, including politics and education. As Casey Stengel is reported to have said,” Never make predictions, especially about the future. ”

2 . When Thomas Moore, 11, stepped up to the plate (棒球比赛中的本垒板) at Oriole Park at Camden Yard in Baltimore, the crowd went wild. It was the biggest applause（掌声） the park had ever heard for a ______ baseball player.

“ I was very ______. I didn’t know that was going to happen,” says Moore.

What happened was that the Baltimore Orioles (金莺队) and their fans were recognizing Moore ______ a hero for something he did that nobody in the city ever ___________. After seeing a picture of a young cancer ______ on social media, Moore let his hair grow for two and a half years. Then he donated his hair and helped provide wigs (假发) for three kids ______ cancer through having chemotherapy.

This ______ boy had no idea what was waiting to happen to him ______ he decided on his act of kindness. “I just thought I got ______   to an Orioles game,” he says.

Moore is one of just 50 heroes recognized by the team-and the one ______ has so far inspired the biggest reaction. He waved and smiled when he was ______ on the big screen, and he enjoyed being ______ by strangers. Just as exciting: before the game, he had the ______ to talk to Orioles star Adam Jones.

“We talked about my hair ______,” Moore says. “I felt even more proud of myself. And I was already proud.”

Jones said that Moore was a role ______ for other kids.

Besides meeting one of his heroes, Moore got to meet someone who ______ him as a hero, Mo Gaba, an 11-year-old who is fighting cancer and ______ from one of Moore’s wigs. Baltimore’s radio listening community has helped ______ more than US$33,000 on the Internet to help with Gaba’s medical care. His cancer _______haven’t broken his spirit or affected his ______ for the game.